Strategic management practices adopted by Kenya commercial bank Limited

Abstract

Between the years 2010 to 2012, that is 2 years KCB rose to becoming the best performing bank in the banking industry in Kenya surpassing other banks in the industry that had consistent performance over those years. It was expected therefore that KCB employed certain strategic management practices to enable them sustain their business operations. As the largest bank in the banking industry in Kenya in terms of assets base, the study sought to determine the strategic management practices adopted by KCB and also establish the challenges of strategic management faced by the bank. To achieve this objective, the study intended to use interview guides. The target interviewees were senior management at KCB who were directly involved in strategy. In relation to the strategic management practices adopted by KCB, the study revealed that the senior management in KCB has varied strategic management practices adopted in their organization and they dedicate a lot of time, man power, technology and resources during the entire strategic management process. The study also revealed that the senior management implements the strategic management practices while following the six steps of the strategic management process which are formulation of the company’s mission and vision, situation analysis, determination of the strategic objectives, strategic analysis and choice, implementation of the strategy and finally strategic evaluation and control. In relation to the strategic management challenges faced by KCB, the study revealed that they included challenges in organizational structure and challenges when monitoring the implementation of strategic management practices. They also included challenges during implementation of the strategic management practices, financial constraints, negative effects on operational responsibilities and other resource based constraints other than financial constraints. Motivational challenges especially when projects are not successful were also faced by the bank. Political challenges, economic challenges and technological challenges were faced by the bank as well. However, the study revealed that the senior management constantly comes up with ways and measures to mitigate these challenges.